Mapping the human brain through online games

Science & Technology

Amy takes us into a fascinating journey into the human brain, its structure and millions of electrical signals. This mysterious nano-world is her realm of work. She describes the AI software her team developed in MIT in order to understand how brain activity happens.

The mind-bending scale of data and effort required to process it called for a different approach, so she looked for inspiration out of neuroscience, in the world of games. With over a billion gamers in the world spending hundreds of billions hours playing, even a tiny amount of that time would solve her problem. That’s where the inspiration for EyeWire came from, where people solve 3D puzzles, while actually analyzing data and mapping neurons.

EyeWire illustrates a great example of humans working together with machines to create a force that is more powerful than either alone. It also demonstrates a social shift towards helping scientists understand the world within and around us.